Lynchburg Halloween Shred-A-Thon nets 75,000 pounds

LYNCHBURG (WSLS 10) -- There were no tricks at Monday's Shred-A-Thon in Lynchburg, but being able to declutter is a treat for many of the people who visited.

The second of five events to take place in October and November brought in 75,000 pounds of documents.

"It's been cluttering everything for a while and now it's gone and it's like a weight lifted," said Darlene Kidd, who brought some of the usual papers people tend to keep longer than necessary.

"A bunch of tax documents and that kind of stuff, kids' FAFSAs and all kinds of stuff that has Social Security numbers on it," she continued.

Businesses can get caught up in holding on too long at times as well.

"We keep them stocked up just in case something should come up and we have to go back into the files and check it," said general contractor Robert Fetherston.

The free WSLS 10 Shred-A-Thons offers a savings for everyone involved.

"We have many documents that over time they are no longer needed and we were able to utilize the shred event here and save tax payer money by using what they had going on," said Gerald Lacy with the Campbell County Sheriff's Office.

Lacy said they typically pay $20 per box to shred. The truck load it brought Thursday cut that expense and the threat of the information getting into the wrong hands.

"We practice what we preach, so to speak," Lacy said. "We go ahead and get the documents shredded so we don't have identity theft as well."

The next Shred-A-Thon will be Monday, November 7, at the Schewels in Christiansburg.